QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 13 April 2017

Solution: c.

• In the last three years, just 29% of Bills have been referred to parliamentary committees. This is in contrast to the 60% and 71% of bills examined by committees in the 14th and 15th Lok Sabhas, respectively.
• The important contribution of committees is evident in the progress of the Bills referred to them. The Mental Healthcare Bill passed this session and the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill passed by Lok Sabha this week incorporated most of the changes recommended by the committees.
• Perhaps, it may be advisable to move to a system like that of the British Parliament where every Bill goes through the committee stage in each House. That may take more time to pass a Bill but will ensure that there is adequate deliberation by parliamentarians before they pass a Bill.

TH: Passage without scrutiny;

Solution: d.

A parliamentary committee means a committee that:

• Is appointed or elected by the House (committee on estimates, for instance) or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman
• Works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman
• Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman
• Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha

Consultative committees, which also consist of members of Parliament, are not parliamentary committees as they do not fulfil above four conditions.

In the news: The Parliamentary panel on home affairs headed by Congress leader P. Chidambaram has said that after the 1971-Pakistan war, the country’s borders had never been as vulnerable as it is now, and that the government should revive the National Counter Terrorism Centre.

Improvisation: TH: ‘Borders have never been so vulnerable since 1971 war’;

Solution: a.

Gujarat became the first State in the country for establishing Cashless System for distribution of foodgrains.

Vikaspedia: February Current Affairs;

PIB;

Solution: a.

The Prime Minister after meeting with Para Athlete Shri Devender Jhajharia Gold Medalist of RIO Olympic Games 2016 desired that a World Class Para athletic Centre be opened in India. The Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports took the initiative and approved a Centre of Excellence for Differently Abled Sportspersons at SAI Gandhinagar, the first ever training centre dedicated for Para athletes in the country. Recently, he laid the foundation for this Centre of Excellence Para Centre.

Vikaspedia: February Current Affairs;

PIB;

Solution: d.

• It has recommended a debt-to-GDP ratio of 38.7% for the central government, 20% for the state governments together and a Fiscal Deficit of 2.5% of GDP, both by financial year 2022-23. The committee has prescribed a so-called glide path to these targets—steady progress towards them.
• To put that in context, the government has set a FD target of 3.2% of GDP in 2017-18, marginally better than the 3.5% clocked last year.
• The panel has introduced an ‘escape clause’ that can allow the government to skip the FD target for a particular year, in situations that include national security concerns, acts of war, national calamities, a collapse of the agriculture sector and far-reaching structural reforms with unanticipated fiscal implications. It can also be triggered if real output growth in the economy slips by 3 percentage points from the average of the previous four quarters. The panel also suggested the creation of a Fiscal Council that the government must consult before invoking escape clauses.
• A similar ‘buoyancy clause’ has been proposed, so that FD must fall at least 0.5% below the target if real output grows 3% faster than the average of the last four quarters.
• The panel has recommended that the existing FRBM Act and rules be scrapped and a new Debt and Fiscal Responsibility Act be adopted.

TH: Hold FD at 3% of GDP till 19-20: NK Singh panel;

Livemint;

Solution: b.

Bitcoins can be sent directly to anyone, anywhere in the world. The only requirement is that you should have a Bitcoin address of the recipient. The process doesn’t require you to reveal your identity. The system is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary.

Q41, CS(P) 2016;

Th: All about bitcoins; TH: Panel to suggest norms for bitcoins, virtual currencies;